The Melbourne Newsroom

Professor Joshua Gans says delays on the Federal Government’s emissions trading scheme shouldn’t effect consumer decisions on ‘buying green’.

With the Federal Government's hotly debated emissions trading scheme set to be introduced into the lower house today, Professor Gans says that the proposed one year delay in its official introduction should not be considered as "reneging on a previous timetable."

"When it comes down to it all, of the targets are to be achieved by 2020 or 2050”.

With the Federal Government set to resume debate today on proposed changes to taxes on alcopops, Professor Rob Moodie, Chair of Global Health at the University of Melbourne, discusses the benefits of such a tax.

Professor Moodie says there is independent evidence that the alcopop tax does work in reducing consumption, with independent studies revealing 165 million fewer spirit-based drinks were drunk by Australians when the tax was enforced between May 2008 and January 2009.

Professor Howard Dick argues that there is worrying neglect in important dimensions of the Australia-Indonesia relationship despite its increasing maturity.

Professor Lyn Yates says funding for school buildings and facilities will help improve student morale and retention rates.

In today’s state budget, the Victorian Government has allocated $402 million toward the rebuilding and renovation of 113 state government schools across the state. These funds will be combined with the Federal government’s allocation of $686 million for Victorian schools’ infrastructure projects.

Australia well prepared to face swine flu outbreak, says Director of the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne, Professor Graham Brown

Professor Brown says he is not surprised that the World Health Organisation has called the recent outbreak of swine flu a public health emergency of international concern.

This has been noted as an epidemic of potential concern as the World Health organisation want to act early; because the flu has traveled outside Mexico, there is a risk of it becoming a pandemic, he says.

Associate Professor Mark Crosby from the Melbourne Business School says the Chinese Governments decision to increase investment overseas is a sign that China wants to be more closely integrated in the world economy.